


Desperate Times

by OccupationLove



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, M/M, Threats, Weaponry, both leaders of a group, but that's not how the apocalypse works, cursing, fight over food, mentions of the increasingly normal rate of violence, they're stupid, this could've been solved so much faster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 00:47:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15830307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccupationLove/pseuds/OccupationLove
Summary: Being the leader of a group that is constantly searching for necessities proves to be difficult most of the time but the worst times are when he has to debate over territory or property. Now, why did he have to deal with this unarmed guy in the middle of the rain, again?





	Desperate Times

**Author's Note:**

> GerAme Day 3 Entry 1  
> I hope you enjoy!

The rain pelted their skin in cold, unforgiving, waves but neither one of them was ready to give up and find shelter. Realistically, Ludwig knew that if he stayed here much longer he would get sick and the camp would be at a disadvantage; but he also knew that if he left the gate of this warehouse, he’d lose a claim at not being hungry for the next several months and that wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

“I’m telling you, dude! I saw it first. You can’t just step in here and act like you have a claim.”

Ludwig narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him and absently traced the hilt of the sword at his waist, “We arrived at the same time you can’t...this isn’t a game! You can’t just decide something is yours because you ‘called dibs’!”  
The other man flailed his arms a little before glaring harshly straight into Ludwig’s eyes, “I know this isn’t a fucking game! You think--How the hell do you think I’ve survived this long if I was that stupid?”

He rolled his eyes but held back the scoff that wanted to escape, “Frankly speaking, I have no earthly idea how you’re alive considering you are currently unarmed and arguing with someone who _is_ armed over precious resources that you have no real claim to.”

“Who said I was unarmed?”

Ludwig found himself raising an eyebrow in questioning but he didn’t get to say anything before the other man raised his hands in front of him as if he were surrendering, “Okay, so, maybe I’m unarmed but I prefer to solve things without violence when I can and you weren’t supposed to be here claiming rights to what’s inside.”

He hummed more annoyed than he had been in a long time, “Except that I’ve already scouted the building and you obviously are quite dense if you think this much food was going to be unguarded. Did you really think that you were going to walk into the warehouse and _talk_ your way out of whatever danger waited inside.”

The look that crossed the other’s face looked almost surprised, “So, you…? Were there people inside? Did you have to…”

_Kill them._

Ludwig knew exactly what he was trying to ask. _Did you kill the people that had claimed this warehouse before you? Are you willing to do these kinds of things to provide food for your people?_ The answer was more complicated than people usually thought it was.

“No, there was only a small family inside. They joined my people.”

The other man scoffed with unbelieving eyes, “So, what you’re telling me is you talked your way out of the danger that waited inside? Because I seem to recall you telling me--oh, thirty seconds ago--that it was foolish to think I could do the same?”

He was hypocritical, or perhaps just too quick to judge the overly emphatic man in front of him; regardless, he still had an argument to win, “That’s not the point. The people this place belonged to are part of my group; therefore, the items in the building are mine. I have a legitimate claim over what’s inside.”

Blue eyes widened in what looked like panic, “But…! There’s so much food in there! I haven’t been inside but I just know there is! You don’t understand; I need that--my group needs what’s in there.”

“As if mine don’t! You can’t just come out of nowhere and take this!”

The rain came to an abrupt stop just fast enough for Ludwig to hear the footsteps behind him. He drew his sword from his belt loop and turned around, placing the blade against this new man’s neck. The green eyes staring back at him were calm and steely as he leveled a gun at Ludwig’s chest, “I’m afraid you’re overstepping your bounds.”

Ludwig resisted the urge to make a stupid face, “I’m?! You’re the group of idiots that came out of nowhere and thought you could stake a claim! I know you’re camping down by the river. You must’ve chosen a nomadic lifestyle because I saw when you crossed the plains and started setting up tents and sleeping in the cars you drove over there. This warehouse,” he nodded toward the gate, “Is mine.”

The man’s eyes flashed in a way that sent shivers up Ludwig’s back, “Is it now?”

The man that was unarmed pushed his way into his line of sight again, “Don’t do it, Arthur!”

Green eyes flitted over to him for a brief moment, “Why not? And what’re you doing coming all the way out here without a weapon, you dumbass? You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“I am not! Please don’t shoot him; he hasn’t even threatened me.”

“Alfred, he’s getting in the way of us eating for the next few months if we’re right about this building. That _is_ a threat.”

Ludwig tried to keep his voice level despite the fact that his life seemed to be very much in danger at that moment, “I’m going to warn you. If you shoot me, you’re going to have to deal with my group and trust me when I say that I’ve got more people than you do.”

Arthur rose a bushy eyebrow at him in the angriest manner he’d ever seen, “And who says we’re sticking around long enough for them to find your body?”

“Arthur! I told you no.”

Arthur started to open his mouth but was quickly interrupted by the sound of a very familiar voice, “You’re outnumbered at the moment, asshole. I suggest lowering the gun.”

Ludwig caught a brief glance of his brother standing just a few feet off to his side, bow string drawn. When he refocused on the man in front of him, he also noticed Elizaveta lingering behind his opponent with two knives ready. The other two were indeed outnumbered.

Alfred looked concerned when he reached for his ally’s hand, “Lower the gun. Do not shoot him. This isn’t worth the bloodshed.”

Arthur made a disappointed noise but lowered his weapon regardless. Ludwig followed his example shouting over his shoulder, “Weapons down.”

His brother, understandably, sounded cautious when he spoke, “If you shoot him after I stop aiming at you, you’re dead. Just a heads up.”

Arthur scoffed, “I’m not stupid.”

Ludwig sighed and shook his head, “Look. Your group doesn’t have any claim on this warehouse but I have a suspicion that neither one of you care about that. So, why don’t we make a deal?”

Alfred’s eyes lit up but he could see a quiet anger in them as well, “What kind of deal?”

He rubbed at his temples, “How about we both leave the building alone for now until tensions decrease and then we can discuss an arrangement afterwards?”

Gilbert stormed up to his side, “You can’t do that Lud! We have the--”

“I _know_. But I’m not watching anybody get killed over this. We’ll figure out another way for the time being.”

Alfred glared but nodded his head, “That sounds acceptable. So, when should we meet? The faster this is settled the better.”

He nodded, “Tomorrow. Noon. Bring anyone that helps lead your group. No weapons. I’ll make sure none of my people bring any either.”

Arthur flared up at that, “You expect us to walk out here into what could be a trap?!”

He shrugged, “You’ll have to if you want any of the things inside.”

“Fine.”

“Good.”

Alfred rolled his eyes, “Fine, anyway, we should head back to camp, Art.”

“Don’t call me that.”

* * *

 

On the way back to the settlement Gil pinched his arm, “You almost got yourself killed and now you’re going to consider giving them part of our supplies? Are you crazy?”

Ludwig smacked his hand, “Did you see another way out of that situation without starting some sort of war over that building?”

He crossed his arms and contorted his face much like an angry toddler, “Well, no, but--”

Elizaveta pulled on his sleeve, “What about the children? The babies? There’s formula in that building. There’s food in that building that might help the mothers start producing milk again. You can’t risk their survival like this.”

Ludwig couldn’t help the glare he directed at her, “If you think I’m going to sit by and watch my nephew starve to death--or any of the children in our group for that matter-- you should never have put me in charge.”

He ripped his arm away from her and sped up his pace. He had only made a tentative deal. He had never promised to follow its rules. He passed the nursery on his way back through their settlement gates and he tried not to watch as his brother rushed over to the building. No, he had a plan and he had bought himself enough time to go through with it.

* * *

 

Night fell just a couple hours later and Ludwig had thoroughly armed himself and set foot back towards the warehouse. He had two empty backpacks on his person and he was quite prepared to lug as much as could back to the settlement. After all, if he pulled this off the other group would be none the wiser considering they had no idea what was inside.

Opening the front door he pushed himself inside as quietly as possible before reaching for the flashlight in his pocket. He knew where the formula was and that was his first stop. Honestly, the building was somewhat maze-like with the boxes that were stacked nearly to the ceiling in aisle-like formations. Whoever had owned the place before the world went to shit had been seriously prepared. Ironically enough, it didn’t seem like they were able to make use of all the preparations.

It only took him a couple of minutes to find the box, ripped open from the side. Most of the boxes had been cut into when he and his brother scouted the building the first time. The only ones they had left alone were the ones that were labeled. He shoved as much formula as he could into one of the backpacks. The other one, he had already decided, was going to be filled with canned food. He turned a couple more corners trying to locate the vegetables; instead, he ran straight into someone else holding a flashlight. The other person made a yelping noise that almost sounded familiar, “Please don’t be a ghost! Dammit, I don’t deserve to be haunted!”

No, Ludwig knew that voice; he scrambled for his flashlight and shone it directly at Alfred’s face, “You’re not supposed to be in here!”

It took a couple of seconds but the other’s face contorted in anger, “You’re not supposed to be here either!”

He didn’t have time to think before he was pinned to the floor, a knife at his throat. The other man had wide almost frightened looking eyes but the resolution behind them told him that he was most certainly in danger. He shifted the knife in his hand and Ludwig knew that if he took a breath too deep it would cut him, “I’m not unarmed this time.”

He blinked up at him, trying to maintain his cool but also the other man’s attention. If Alfred was looking at his face, then maybe he wouldn’t notice his hand inching toward the gun at his waist. Ludwig breathed evenly through his nose,”I see that. I’m not sure you really want to kill me here though. I know things that would be useful to you.”

Alfred curiosity must have been easy to appeal to because the question in his eyes lingered just long enough for him to falter his grip on the knife. Ludwig took the chance to flip them over, drawing his gun in the process and aiming it at his chest, “Don’t make we do this.”

Alfred glared up at him, obviously upset with the situation, “Why not? Why would you not shoot me? You apparently have the manpower if I’m supposed to believe what you said earlier. And I went against what you said. So, why would you not shoot? A normal person in these times would.”

Ludwig took a deep breath, considering his words before lowering the gun--he didn't want to be like normal people, “I'm not going to shoot you. Neither of us listened to me and it’s pointless to fight about it when we’re both equally to blame. What are you doing here though?”

Alfred looked like he was going to try arguing for a moment before his expression visibly calmed, “I was going to grab some breakfast supplies as a message of goodwill for my people. I thought if they were well fed tomorrow morning they’d be less grumpy at the discussion. Or well...Everybody but Arthur would be less grumpy anyway. What’re you doing here?”

He wasn’t quite sure how much information he should be sharing, “My nephew is hungry.”

Alfred cocked his head to the side, “Nephew? How old is he?”

Ludwig sighed and looked back at the boxes, scanning for vegetables, “He’s five months old, exactly, next week.”

“Oh.”

“Exactly.”

Alfred looked back at the boxes as well and shifted the weight of his backpack. Ludwig tried to ignore the sound of cans hitting each other, “How many kids are in your group. Besides your nephew, you know?”

“Six.”

Alfred sighed, “There’s only one in mine and she’s nearly eleven if I’ve been keeping track of the dates correctly.”

Ludwig couldn’t help the self-satisfied smirk on his face, “It’s November 20th.”

The other man looked shocked, “Huh, well, I guess she turned eleven today then.”

Ludwig glanced over at him, “How many people are in your group?”

Alfred shook his head, “There used to be more but there’s only 20 left.”

Ludwig hummed noncommitedly but he couldn’t help but think about the three unoccupied houses in his settlement. Alfred shoved his arm somewhat lightly, “You’re supposed to tell me how many people you have too, dude.”

He sighed and reached for a can of green beans, “There are sixty-two of us if you count the kids.”

He at least seemed impressed at that, “Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that many people in one place actually.”

“Yeah. I haven’t seen another group similar in size, ever. Or at least not until we all had to start relying on ourselves. You’re in charge of yours, right?”

Alfred laughed, “Yes, but I haven’t been for very long. There was a bit of a fight over bad decisions in leadership and all our leaders either stepped down into less important roles or left us entirely. The group decided that I should lead because I’m fairly good at finding food. I’ve got a sense for it, I think. Arthur says it’s because I ate too much when everything was normal.”

He snorted, unamused, “That’s just rude.”

His companion laughed again, “Yeah, well, he’s my older brother. It’s kind of in his job description to be rude.”

Lud shook his head, “I think that might be going a little too far. Not that it’s any of my business but I’m familiar with my brother bothering me and he’s never made it...I don’t know... _personal_?”

Alfred chuckled, “Sounds nice. What’s your brother like?”

He shook his head and moved into another aisle, “Trigger happy isn’t quite the right word when he prefers a bow and arrow is it?”

“You mean the guy that threatened Arthur earlier?”

Ludwig nodded, “That would be him.”

“Is your nephew his baby? Or do you have another sibling?”

He shook his head, “Gil’s my only sibling. Julian is his son.”

Alfred sighed, “Then, I guess it’s good fighting didn’t break out, after all. Well, I mean, it’s good regardless but I mean, I’d hate to be the reason a child was missing their parent.”

He looked back at the other man and tried to examine his face. If there was any sincerity in his expression then, maybe--

“You said you were good at finding food?”

Alfred nodded, “Yes.”

“And you prefer to settle things without violence?”

“Yes.”

“Can you say the same about the rest of your group?”

“Yes.”

Ludwig cocked his head to the side, “Then why are we fighting about supplies when there’s room in my settlement for you to join us.”

Alfred’s eyes lit up, “Could I still be in charge of my people?”

Ludwig smiled, “Well, to be fair, it might be somewhat difficult to get that many people to listen to me when they haven’t met me. Really, all that matters is following the communities rules as a whole. Which, actually, are posted on the gate and we can go over them later if you are interes--”

Alfred saluted him, effectively distracting him well enough to stop his sentence, “Sounds good, Captain! I’ll head back to tell my team! Oh, and, um, can I keep the canned fruits in my backpack it’d be kind of a fuss to put them back?”

Ludwig sighed, “I wouldn’t advise eating them all but I won’t fight you taking them.”

The smile Alfred directed at him was brighter than the flashlight he was holding, “I’m not sure twenty people can eat this many peaches in the period of a couple of hours but okay!”

Then he turned a corner around the boxes and left Ludwig alone. He sighed and shook his head not quite ready to imagine what his brother would say to their new additions. He didn’t even have time to get out of the aisle he was in before Alfred turned the corner again, “Hey, um, Ludwig, right? How do we get to your place?”

He laughed, “Just meet me here at noon; I’ll guide you over.”

**Author's Note:**

> Any kudos or comments are greatly appreciated <3 Thank you for reading!


End file.
